'iPad mini' event reaffirmed to highlight education uses

At its media event on Tuesday, Apple reportedly plans to make a point of showcasing how its new, smaller iPad will be particularly useful in the classroom.

Citing an unnamed person with knowledge of Apple's plans at the "iPad mini" event, Apple executives will "make a point of highlighting" the educational abilities of the iPad, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The report also revealed that Apple recently "realigned its education sales force to emphasize iPads."

The iPad has become a major part of Apple's education initiative as the touchscreen tablet has found its way into the classroom. But the $399 entry price for the iPad 2 is still seen as too high for many schools that continue to face budget cuts.

Apple's new, smaller iPad is expected to have a lower price point that will lower the barrier to entry for schools and consumers alike.

The report is the latest to indicate that Apple plans to focus on education for its iPad mini event set to take place on Tuesday in San Jose, Calif. Reports first began to surface earlier this month indicating that Apple would pay particular attention to iBooks in unveiling a new 7.85-inch iPad.

Apple itself even revealed an upcoming iBooks refresh last week, one one title in the French iTunes Store specified that "iBooks 3.0" was a requirement. The current version of iBooks available on the iOS App Store is 2.2.

One Apple event early this year already focused on iBooks and the role the iPad can play in education. The company held a briefing in New York City in January to unveil iBooks 2.0, which focused on interactive textbooks.

I think this is a good idea. I visited a friend of mine recently who (unlike me!) has two small kids. We were talking about how her kids loved playing with apps on her iPhone. She said she was thinking of buying an iPad that they could use, but thought they were too big and expensive. Watch out for an announcement on Tuesday I told her!Edited by markbriton - 10/22/12 at 7:57am

"Jobs also attacked America’s education system, saying that it was hopelessly antiquated and crippled by union work rules. Until the teachers’ unions were broken, there was almost no hope for education reform. Teachers should be treated as professionals, he said, not as industrial assembly-line workers. Principals should be able to hire and fire them based on how good they were. Schools should be staying open until at least 6 p.m. and be in session eleven months of the year. It was absurd, he added, that American classrooms were still based on teachers standing at a board and using textbooks. All books, learning materials, and assessments should be digital and interactive, tailored to each student and providing feedback in real time."

This is one of the problems with the current iBooks. What I would like to see is an iBooks Server that would do two things. One, it would allow for less expensive iPads with smaller storage as the textbooks would come from the server. Two, it would allow the tests, quizzes, and review questions to be graded and stored on the server. It would also make reusing the iPads in the next class easier and streamline the entire Apple ID issue with shared devices.

Is it really worth it? On cost breakdowns difference between 8Gb and 16Gb is less than 5$. And subtract the costs of having an extra model in the range.

The 'German Price leak' (if genuine) suggests you are right. But I don't think it makes much sense. Android devices specs will make 8Gb look stingy.

The same can be said about the difference between 16GB and 32GB which is a few $ as well. The point of the lower level model like $8GB is to provide an entry for those who would not have bought otherwise, and at the same time avoid cannibalization of the sales of the higher margin models.

Steve already said so. From the bible:
"Jobs also attacked America’s education system, saying that it was hopelessly antiquated and crippled by union work rules. Until the teachers’ unions were broken, there was almost no hope for education reform. Teachers should be treated as professionals, he said, not as industrial assembly-line workers. Principals should be able to hire and fire them based on how good they were. Schools should be staying open until at least 6 p.m. and be in session eleven months of the year. It was absurd, he added, that American classrooms were still based on teachers standing at a board and using textbooks. All books, learning materials, and assessments should be digital and interactive, tailored to each student and providing feedback in real time."

If you mean from Walter Isaacson's embarrassingly bad book on Jobs, I would find another source. Moreover, I really don't get the sudden attack on Unions. Like with every group, you can find some bad Apples (no pun intended). However, 5 day work weeks, 8 hour days, week ends, work safety rules, fair wages, child labor rules, all are attributable to Unions. Prior to the labor movement, the work conditions used to be akin to the Slave like labor in China. Moreover, you really should look at the underlying anti-union push. Republicans hate Unions because Unions contribute to worker friendly Democrats.

Further, everything bad going on in this Country currently can be attributed to one core happening. Namely, the North America Free Trade Agreement. In the biggest economic heyday, Republicans (and some democrats) paid off by the lobbyists convinced initially opposed to President Clinton to sign this trade agreement. We were told it would create jobs in the US, Mexico, and Canada. Instead, cheaply made good from China poured through Mexico and Canada into the US to escape tariffs that would otherwise be imposed.

Those tariffs protected the rest American workers so they didn't have to compete with countries that had an unfair labor advantage and opposing views considering humanity. The tariffs funded government programs. The protected jobs kept profit and taxes in the US. The taxes funded local governments, which in turn invested in education, road repairs, and other services. Wages feed the local economies contributing to the biggest earnings ever.

Now the economy is in shambles, and people like to blame the little people for the problem. I for one want the people teaching my kids to be well paid and happy. Happy teachers make for happy kids.

Jobs by the way has it right in terms of technology. Technology has been way under utilized in schools. One of the biggest expenses schools pay is for books. Publishers charge exorbitant prices to schools and force the renewal of books by making unnecessary changes to books. Schools should contribute to the creating of public domain or low cost education books that are delivered through mediums like iBooks. I'd rather pay teachers fair wages, then pay greedy content holders' unjustified profit.

If you mean from Walter Isaacson's embarrassingly bad book on Jobs, I would find another source. Moreover, I really don't get the sudden attack on Unions. Like with every group, you can find some bad Apples (no pun intended).

Now the economy is in shambles, and people like to blame the little people for the problem. I for one want the people teaching my kids to be well paid and happy. Happy teachers make for happy kids.

Teacher unions are one of the bad apples and tenure is not required to make teachers happy. Teacher unions have opposed any meaningful educational reforms in the US.

Don't try to make this political. Both democrats and republicans dislike teacher unions because they suck. Rham Emanuel is a dem. Michelle Rhee is a dem.

The NY teachers union with 32M in cash, 127M in assets and $218M in revenue in 2010 is not "little people".

That's very over the top. Are you saying that the words attributed to Jobs are inaccurate? I think they are truthful and therefore can be used as authoritative which means they can surely use the informal uses of the word bible, per any dictionary, just as quotes like 'Microsoft has no taste" can surely be said is gospel as an informal truth. There is absolutely nothing Phil said that you or anyone should get offended by.Edited by SolipsismX - 10/22/12 at 12:41pm

This bot has been removed from circulation due to a malfunctioning morality chip.

Originally Posted by SolipsismX
Are you saying that the words attributed to Jobs are inaccurate?

Oh, no! Not offended by the content of what is being said nor questioning the accuracy thereof. I just personally dislike the use of 'bible' in non-religious contexts and personally don't think the biography could even be considered anything remotely close to that definition of the word in that context. It just wasn't good.

Same as with books now, yeah? So regardless of your take on that particular issue (and hopefully we can go without taking on that issue), it works out to the same situation as in the past.

But books don't break when placed in backpacks and thrown around, typical student use case. Those ipads don't seem to respond so well to the same treatment. And have you ever told a kid to be careful with their stuff? Same for theft. Don't hear much about kids getting their books stolen on the bus. A little different story with ipads.

Originally Posted by pt123
But books don't break when placed in backpacks and thrown around, typical student use case. Those ipads don't seem to respond so well to the same treatment.

Guess they'll have to be taught to take care of their stuff in accordance with the stuff in question, huh. They shouldn't be throwing around books in the first place.

And have you ever told a kid to be careful with their stuff?

Of course? At least as often as I was told? And I don't have to buy replacement crap of ANYTHING due to accidence incurred by me because I learned early on to take care of things. Teach 'em early and maybe we won't have thousands of morons trying to get AppleCare free replacements for pouring soda into Macs.

Same for theft. Don't hear much about kids getting their books stolen on the bus. A little different story with ipads.

When every kid has one, it's less of an issue. When every one has tracking software, it's less of an issue. When it's possible that they wouldn't even be able to take them home, it's less of an issue.

Why are you continuing to pretend they won't be punished for damages, just as they are now?

Why do you pretend you can just teach kids to be gentle with school books?

iPads are suitable for children of all ages. The very young need to be supervised more closely much as they are with finger paint and other accident prone media. Older children sociologically are much better conditioned these days to treat computers and mobile devices with more care than years ago when they only had textbooks in their backpacks, and in the large majority of cases they are not taking the device home unless checked out by a parent. Some schools will install protective covers to minimize damage. Even so accidents do happen. The school has the choice of forgiveness, insurance, Apple Care+, asking the parent to pay for the damges, paying for the repairs themselves or caning the child and or the parent, state law permitting.

Originally Posted by pt123
Why do you pretend you can just teach kids to be gentle with school books?

Probably because it worked for me, and I'm still legally human, so I figure it can work for kids these days, too. A lot of things common sense things worked for me when I was just taught them. I imagine others can be taught the same way.

Again, just speaking from personal experience. Learned early on that if I destroy something, I no longer have that thing, and so when I wanted to have things, I didn't destroy them. Doesn't seem too complicated to get.

Probably because it worked for me, and I'm still legally human, so I figure it can work for kids these days, too. A lot of things common sense things worked for me when I was just taught them. I imagine others can be taught the same way.

Again, just speaking from personal experience. Learned early on that if I destroy something, I no longer have that thing, and so when I wanted to have things, I didn't destroy them. Doesn't seem too complicated to get.

It is not any easier to pick up your clothes instead of throwing it on the ground and I do a lot of yelling about it. Not too complicated, but just doesn't happen. But I am sure giving kids ipads will change all of that.

Besides, unless there is a way to prove my kid broke the ipad, I ain't paying. How do I know some other kid didn't break it? How do I know it wasn't broken before it was issued to my kid?

It is not any easier to pick up your clothes instead of throwing it on the ground and I do a lot of yelling about it. Not too complicated, but just doesn't happen. But I am sure giving kids ipads will change all of that.

He just used the words "common sense" and "children" in the same sentence. I have a reasonably smart kid (at least according to test scores) but if I had a nickel for every time I asked him "why on earth did you think THAT was a good idea" I wouldn't have to worry about his college fund anymore.

Originally Posted by pt123
Besides, unless there is a way to prove my kid broke the ipad, I ain't paying. How do I know some other kid didn't break it? How do I know it wasn't broken before it was issued to my kid?

Do you not have any idea how book damages are handled or something? Are you just ignoring that, or what's going on here. When given to the child, it is the child's property and responsibility. If it gets destroyed on his watch, unless there is evidence of external foul play, it's being paid for by him, period.